OTEP

Otep is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California formed in 2000. They have released two EPs, six studio albums, and one live album. As of December 2013, they are no longer under their previous label Victory Records and currently are signed with Napalm Records.

Early years, Jihad and Sevas Tra (2000–2003)

Otep began as a band in Los Angeles, California, in late 2000. The name Otep is from Otep Shamaya’s stage name and is an anagram for “Poet”. They were invited to play Ozzfest before they had signed to a label after Sharon Osbourne witnessed their live performance. They have since played Ozzfest several times. Otep signed with Capitol Records after a few shows and without a demo, purely on the power of their live performance. They started gigging around Los Angeles a lot and released the Jihad EP in 2001.

The band released their album Sevas Tra with Terry Date on June 18, 2002, and then played several gigs at the Ozzfest and was considered one of the prime bands there in 2002. Their first time at Ozzfest was in 2001 with their eighth gig. The first album peaked at 145 on the Billboard 200 and 86 on the UK Albums Chart.